A Mexican court sentenced Noel “El Flaco” Salgueiro, a former lieutenant to Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and founder of the Cártel Gente Nueva, to 29 years and 3 months in prison plus a fine of 378,472 pesos. The ruling came after his extradition from the U.S. in 2019, though his legal process in Mexico began only last year. The delay stemmed from a 2021 arrest warrant issued by Mexican authorities, which remained unexecuted until Interpol facilitated his controlled deportation in June 2023. The Fiscalía General de la República (FGR) confirmed the sentence, which was handed down despite Salgueiro having spent years in U.S. custody.
His case took an unusual turn when Mexican authorities secured an Interpol-assisted deportation in June, arresting him at a border crossing in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. He was then transferred to Mexican authorities to face charges related to his criminal history. Salgueiro will serve his sentence in Penal del Altiplano, a high-security prison in the State of Mexico. The FGR accused him of organized crime, illegal weapons possession, and founding Gente Nueva, a group that operated as an armed wing of the Cártel de Sinaloa. His crimes included drug trafficking, extortion, and violence in Chihuahua, where his cartel controlled marijuana production and cocaine smuggling routes into the U.S.
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Official reports indicate his operations moved an estimated 15 tons of marijuana and 2 tons of cocaine annually across the border, reinforcing his role as a key logistics operator for the Sinaloa Cartel. His weapons arsenal included military-grade firearms, further escalating the group’s capacity for armed confrontation. Official records show Salgueiro began his criminal career in 1995 in the Chihuahua mountains, where he initially specialized in marijuana cultivation before expanding into larger-scale trafficking networks.
Rising through the ranks of the Sinaloa Cartel, he established Gente Nueva in 2007 in Veracruz, gradually consolidating control over key smuggling corridors. The group expanded across Veracruz, Guerrero, Durango, and Sinaloa, clashing with rival factions like La Línea—a cartel linked to the Carrillo Fuentes family—in Ciudad Juárez.
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Beyond drug trafficking, Gente Nueva was implicated in kidnappings, torture, and targeted assassinations, including attacks on local officials and business owners, which drew direct attention from Chihuahua’s state government. By 2010, Mexican authorities had offered a reward for information leading to his capture, which they secured in a bloodless operation after months of intelligence gathering. The sentencing marks the end of a long legal journey for Salgueiro, who was first detained in 2011 by Mexican forces. His extradition to the U.S. in 2019 delayed his trial in Mexico until authorities secured his return through diplomatic channels. The case reflects ongoing efforts to prosecute high-profile cartel figures under Mexican law, even when they’ve spent years in foreign custody.
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